6/1/2023 football Edit

Upside and downside: Wide receivers

Jarod Hamilton • PowerMizzou

Staff Writer

Last season, Mizzou wide receivers Dominic Lovett and Luther Burden III both displayed what made them such a dynamic players at East St. Louis high school.

Lovett became the first wide receiver since Emanuel Hall in 2018 to record over 800 yards in a season when he racked up 56 receptions for 846 yards and three touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Burden recorded 45 receptions for 375 yards and six touchdowns while also adding a pair of rushing touchdowns and one on a punt return.

In 2023, only half of that pairing will be lining up in a Tigers uniform.

Lovett transferred to the reigning back-to-back national champion Georgia Bulldogs, meaning Burden will truly be the No. 1 wide receiver for the Tigers.

Lovett was an All-SEC selection last season, so losing him isn’t an easy pill for Mizzou to swallow especially when he transferred to a division foe.

However, Lovett’s departure set up an array of moves in the wide receiver room that will possibly set the Tigers up for the better in 2023.

Upside

When looking at the 2023 Missouri wide receiver room the upside is that this is a more balanced group than last season’s group.

In 2022, Mizzou was trying to fit a square peg in a round hole by playing players out of their roles.

For example, Burden playing on the outside when he is more dynamic in the slot. That won’t be necessary this this upcoming season because he will get to move inside to the slot.

Burden played 66 snaps from the slot while Lovett and Barrett Banister combined for 702 snaps from the slot, according to PFF College.

All three players are better playing in the slot, but because Burden is talented enough to produce at any spot on the field then he was the “odd man” out in this case.

Burden being back in the slot means he will get a chance to do what he does best and that's getting to create in space.

After recording 38 receptions for a team-high 576 yards in 2021, Tauskie Dove had a down season in 2022 when he recorded 16 receptions for 240 yards and a touchdown.

Since the season has ended, he too decided to transfer by joining Memphis.

That’s three quality departures but the Tigers made up for it with three quality additions (on paper). However, not all of the key additions are players.

In January, the team hired Kirby Moore to be the team’s new quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.

Moore was a former wide receiver at Boise State and started his coaching career as a wide receivers coach at the College of Idaho in 2014. He also coached wide receivers at Fresno State from 2017-21 before being its quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator last season.

Even though his focus has shifted to the quarterbacks and the totality of the offense he will find ways to make sure the wide receivers are in a position to impact the game.

As far as people who can actually suit up, the Tigers brought in former Oklahoma Sooner Theo Wease and former Ole Miss Rebel Dannis Jackson.

Wease is a former five-star recruit and is coming off of a season in which he produced 19 receptions for 378 yards (19.89 yards per reception) and four touchdowns.

He’s a vertical threat and can play on the outside which is another reason the Tigers can comfortably move Burden into the slot. Also, his yards per reception were more than Lovett’s (15.1 yards per reception), who was the team’s deep-threat option last season.

Jackson didn’t play last season since he entered the transfer portal before the season started but in 2021, he racked up 12 receptions for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

He is a former four-star prospect and like Burden, he is better when he has the chance to create in space and make defenders miss.

Then add in players like a returning Chance Luper, Mekhi Miller, Mookie Cooper, Peanut Houston, Ja'Marion Wayne and more. Now, the Tigers have re-upped on talent and have more of a complete wide receiver room with players that fit certain roles within the offense.

Downside

In what most would consider a good problem to have, the downside to this year's wide receiver room is the Tigers can't really play everyone.

The Tigers wide receiver room is so talented that there is a case for eight players to be in the rotation and that’s before you add four-star signee Joshua Manning and three-star signees Daniel Blood and Marquis Johnson to the equation.

Obviously, eight players can’t be part of the rotation and that number will likely be trimmed to five or six.

Luper missed all of last season due to blood clots but he recorded 21 receptions for 203 yards and a touchdown in 2021.

Missouri had three true freshmen play big-time snaps (in terms of quality and quantity) on offense last season with Burden, offensive lineman Armand Membou and Miller.

Of the trio, Miller saw the least amount of snaps but he made the most of his reps. Whether it was a huge third-down catch or blocking a punt, he was coming up big and is in line for a lot more reps in 2023.

Cooper is a former four-star prospect in his own right and he racked up 25 receptions for 297 yards a season ago which included three games of four receptions and 50 or more yards.

Houston didn’t feature much during the regular season last year but he impressed in the Gasparilla Bowl versus Wake Forest with six receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Wayne came to Missouri as a wide receiver and then switched to a defensive back and is now back at wide receiver.

He has big-play potential and is obviously a really good athlete to be able to flip positions multiple times. The biggest thing for him is getting an opportunity to showcase that athleticism after redshirting last season.

Missouri has some good players but not everyone can play. So, it may be a tough process to see who starts the season in the rotation, but again it’s a good problem to have.

Reality

Heading into fall camp the best bet for the top six spots would be a combination of Burden, Wease, Cooper, Miller, Jackson, Houston or Wayne.

Burden is undoubtedly the team’s No. 1 receiver but the next four receivers named probably have good chances of joining him in the rotation. Where they fall in the rotation is more of a question for them.

Also, the Tigers will be really careful with Luper, especially in fall camp and the first few weeks of the season and that combined with what Houston showed at the end of last season or what they believe Wayne could be may give them the edge to be in the top six.